OVERDUE

As I sit here writing this, I am anxiously bouncing on a ball. Drinking raspberry leaf tea. After my spicy Mexican enchilada. I have barely reached the 41 week mark and I am really, truly, done with being pregnant. Little baby girl, feel free to come any time now.. please. 

For the last two to three weeks I have experienced the wild wonders of being a hop skip and a jump away from delivering a tiny human. Do I start with my ankles, or lack thereof? Perhaps the heartburn, the sausage fingers, the heinous back pain, or maybe my immobility. Yes, it really is all that great. 

To begin, I should probably apologize in advance for the tone I am currently setting for this post. Having just booked my induction, I am experiencing all sorts of emotions ranging from sadness to excitement. This is getting hard. Not unbearable, but really hard. Being overdue has many battles to face, and I really have to give it to all the expectant mothers who have been overdue and gone through this same experience.. you're basically warriors. 

To begin, it really is difficult to get into standing position from laying down, sitting on a couch, sitting in a car, basically any position that was not already standing to begin with. The best part about that is you will need to stand up a million times because you will have to pee roughly every twenty minutes. 

Your feet are so swollen at all times; wearing socks give you lines on your ankles that cut off circulation and leave an imprint. Your ankles become non-existent, they are puffed up and swollen and usually very sore at almost all times of the day. One time putting boots on left me with imprints that made my ankles look inverted for about 3 hours after taking them off. 

Putting your feet down onto the floor to walk after having them elevated (which is supposed to help the swelling) somehow makes them more swollen at this point and they become sore and tender with each step taken on the hard floor. Hands and fingers follow suit, resembling tightly overpacked sausages from the wrists to fingertips. Opening bottles, jars, turning faucets, or anything involving any type of dexterity become pretty much impossible at this stage. Independence is truly fleeting.

Pretty much any type of food will give you heartburn. I'm pretty sure milk gave me heartburn yesterday. The rule I have learned is if it can possibly give you heartburn, you will get heartburn. 

Back aches. Ohhhh back aches. For me, the pain is not necessarily so much my lower back, but right across my bra strap is the primary area of pain. The excess amount of weight being pulled in front of me is bending my back out of shape and putting a tremendous amount of strain on that area of my spine and ribs. My enlarged breasts do not help at all, further adding pressure to an already stressed area of my body. This aspect of the growing overdue belly is probably the worst part by a long shot. 

Bending over is absolutely not an option for overdue mammas. Tying shoes, putting on socks or pants, anythings involving getting your hands to your feet is probably going to need some assistance. If you don't have anyone around to help you, then I truly feel for you.

If you know or see a woman who is overdue, please try to be as helpful as possible just to make her life that much easier. Her maternity clothing probably doesn't even fit her any more. She probably has heartburn and cankles... maybe even hemorrhoids.. all at the same time. Lend a helping hand, offer your seat, maybe make a nice compliment. She will probably cry over it due to the excessive amount of hormones raging through her tired aching body, but it will be very much appreciated. 

To all the significant others of the overdue mommas, don't stop the foot and back massages. Don't stop telling her she's beautiful even if she resembles a sweaty, tired, grumpy little piglet. 

To all overdue mommas out there, it will be over before you know it and your beautiful little blessing will be in your arms soon enough. 

At least thats what I keep telling myself to keep from going insane.